Shows / Can’t Look Away
Can’t Look Away
I was a kid in the 70s, a teenager in the 80s and in my twenties in the 90s — and movies have been part of the ride all the way. From old favourites and forgotten gems to films I’m watching for the first time, I revisit the movies, share the memories and talk about whatever gets me thinking.
Episodes
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 81: Clerks II (2006)
I revisit Clerks II (2006), a sequel that feels just as much like a time capsule of the mid-2000s as it does a return to Kevin Smith’s most famous characters…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 80: The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
I revisit Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), a quiet, beautifully observed film that finds meaning in everyday conversations, routine and the…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 79: Mercury Rising (1998)
I revisit Mercury Rising (1998), a late-‘90s thriller that holds up better than its reputation. Bruce Willis brings plenty of heart to the role, the supporting…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 78: Orlando (1992)
I revisit Sally Potter’s Orlando (1992), a unique and fascinating film that completely confused me when I first saw it but has taken on a very different…
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Episode 77: Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
I revisit Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder (1990), a film that has always stayed with me because it refuses to give easy answers. When I first saw it, I think I…
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Episode 76: Duel (1971)
I revisit Steven Spielberg’s Duel, the film that announced the arrival of one of cinema’s greatest filmmakers. What begins as a simple moment of road…
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Episode 75: The Money Movers (1978)
I revisit The Money Movers (1978), a gritty Australian crime film that surprised me when I first discovered it on VHS as a teenager recovering from a knee…
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Episode 74: The Score (2001)
I revisit The Score (2001), a heist thriller that brought together Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando. I remembered it as an incredible crime…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 73: Taste of Cherry (1997)
I revisit Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry (1997), a quiet and deeply philosophical Iranian film about life, death and the choices we make. I first saw this…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 72: The Big Lebowski (1998)
I revisit The Big Lebowski (1998) on Dave’s Movie Diary, the Coen Brothers’ cult classic about mistaken identity, bowling, and one very unfortunate rug. Packed…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 71: Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
I revisit Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Paul Schrader’s unique and visually stunning exploration of the life, art and contradictions of Yukio…
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Episode 70: Crimson Tide (1995)
I revisit Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide (1995), a film I originally saw as just another submarine thriller but came to appreciate much more on rewatch. With Gene…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 69: Alphaville (1965)
I revisit Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville (1965), a film that fascinated me even while I wasn’t always sure what was going on. Blending film noir, science fiction…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 68: Witness (1985)
I revisit Peter Weir’s Witness (1985), one of my favourite films of the 1980s and, for me, one of Harrison Ford’s finest performances. In this episode of…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 67: The Wild Bunch (1969)
A look at Sam Peckinpah’s dusty, violent Western about ageing outlaws, moral collapse, and one final blood-soaked stand. I talk cast, style, slow-motion…
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Episode 66: Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
I revisit Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise, a film that surprised me with how strongly it connected to memories of my own early twenties. More than a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 65: Eraserhead (1977)
I recently revisited Eraserhead (1977), a film I didn’t really connect with when I first tried it years ago. Watching it again now, it feels less like a story…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 64: Hard Eight (1996)
I revisit Paul Thomas Anderson’s debut feature, Hard Eight (1996), a film I remembered as being all about gambling but discovered is really about guilt…
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Episode 63: Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece still has the power to shock more than 60 years later. I revisit Psycho and talk about why it’s much more than just the famous…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 62: Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
A revisit of one of the great prison dramas, with Clint Eastwood giving one of his most restrained performances in a tightly directed true-story thriller from…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 61: Caddyshack (1980)
This episode of Dave’s Movie Diary looks back at Caddyshack, one of those chaotic comedies that probably shouldn’t work as well as it does. From Chevy Chase…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 60: The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle (1980)
This episode of Dave’s Movie Diary revisits The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle — a wildly entertaining snapshot of the chaos surrounding the Sex Pistols and the…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 59: Another Woman (1988)
This episode of Dave’s Movie Diary takes a look at Another Woman, one of the more serious and overlooked films from Woody Allen. It’s a thoughtful film about…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 58: Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
A revisit of Rosemary’s Baby after first reading Ira Levin’s brilliant original novel and comparing how closely the film follows one of horror’s most…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 57: Repulsion (1965)
Revisiting Repulsion after years away — and it hit very differently this time. Polanski’s early psychological horror about isolation, breakdown and reality…
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Episode 56: Weapons (2025)
This episode is on Weapons — a horror film I actually gave up on the first time around despite all the hype. Revisiting it now, I found a lot more to admire…
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Episode 55: Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
This episode is on Bonnie and Clyde, Arthur Penn’s landmark crime film that helped change American cinema forever. I revisit this classic and talk about its…
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Episode 54: Parasite (2019)
I revisited Parasite after first seeing it around 2020 when all the Oscar hype surrounding it was everywhere. It’s Bong Joon-ho’s story of a family slowly…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 53: Halloween (1978)
A revisit of Halloween and a reminder of why John Carpenter created one of the most influential horror films ever made. More than just a slasher film…
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Episode 52: Chopper (2000)
This episode is on Chopper (2000), directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Eric Bana in his breakout role as Melbourne criminal Mark “Chopper” Read. It follows…
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Episode 51: Opening Night (1977)
This episode is about Opening Night, John Cassavetes’ fascinating backstage drama starring an extraordinary Gena Rowlands as an actress spiralling under the…
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Episode 50: The Doors (1991)
This episode is on The Doors. I first saw this around the time it came out, when I was heavily into both The Doors and Jim Morrison after reading No One Here…
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Episode 49: Terms of Endearment (1983)
This episode is about Terms of Endearment, a beautifully written family drama based on a novel by Larry McMurtry and directed by the always impressive James L…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 48: The Cell (2000)
This episode is about The Cell (2000). I remember it at the time as one of the more visually striking and disturbing films I’d seen, built around the idea of…
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Episode 47: Magazine Dreams (2023)
This episode is on Magazine Dreams (2023), an intensely uncomfortable film about obsession, loneliness, and what happens when someone builds their entire…
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Episode 46: Interiors (1978)
This episode is on Interiors (1978), a film I hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years and remembered as one of Woody Allen’s more serious departures from his usual…
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Episode 45: The Sixth Sense (1999)
This episode is on The Sixth Sense (1999), a film I first saw in cinemas back when twists like this could still genuinely surprise audiences. Rewatching it…
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Episode 44: Subway (1985)
This episode is about Subway (1985). I hadn’t seen it since the early 90s and what struck me most was how completely wrong my memory of it had been. I’d…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 43: The Russia House (1990)
This episode is about The Russia House (1990). What struck me most on revisiting it wasn’t the spy story, but simply spending time in the Soviet Union of 1990…
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Episode 42: The Hateful Eight (2015)
This episode is about The Hateful Eight (2015). I hadn’t revisited it in about 11 years, and it’s always been the forgotten Tarantino for me. Going back to it…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 41: Manhattan (1979)
This episode is about Manhattan (1979). Revisiting it after thirty years, I was struck again by how beautiful it looks — New York in black and white is still…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 40: The Club (1980)
This episode is on The Club (1980). I remembered really liking this when I first saw it in the 90s, but revisiting it now it feels much more theatrical and…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 39: Toni Erdmann (2016)
This episode is on Toni Erdmann (2016). A very strange film and one that takes its time — much slower and far less comedic than I expected at first. But once…
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Episode 38: The People vs Larry Flynt (1996)
This episode is on The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Rewatching it now, I found myself less interested in Larry Flynt the man and more drawn to the film’s…
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Episode 37: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
This episode is on Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007). It’s a simple setup that spirals fast — two brothers planning a robbery that goes wrong in ways…
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Episode 36: Scarface (1983)
This episode is on Scarface (1983). It’s Tony Montana’s rise and fall — all ambition, excess, and self-destruction. It’s loud, violent, and iconic, but…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 35: Miami Vice (2006)
This episode is on Miami Vice (2006), a film I really didn’t get the first time I saw it back in 2007. Coming back to it now, it’s less about plot and more…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 34: Barton Fink (1991)
Today I’m looking at Barton Fink (1991), which feels less like a film about writer’s block and more like a surreal pressure-cooker of ego, performance, and…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 33: Jaws (1975)
Today I’m looking at Jaws (1975), a film that never really felt like a discovery because it was already such a huge part of popular culture before I properly…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 32: Unbreakable (2000)
Today I’m looking at Unbreakable (2000), a film that feels even more fascinating now given what superhero cinema eventually became. What still works is how…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 31: Local Hero (1983)
Today I’m looking at Local Hero (1983), a film I somehow avoided for nearly 20 years before finally catching up with it by chance. What really stayed with me…
Can’t Look AwayEpisode 30: Schindler’s List (1993)
Today I’m looking at Schindler’s List (1993), a film that takes me back to a time when cinema still felt like a genuine cultural event. Watching it now, what…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 29: Q&A (1990)
Today I’m looking at Q & A (1990), a Sidney Lumet crime drama that feels more interested in institutional corruption than conventional thriller mechanics. Nick…
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Episode 28: Against All Odds (1984)
Today I’m looking at Against All Odds (1984), a very slick, very 80s thriller built around sun-soaked locations, shifting loyalties, and some very questionable…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 27: The Long Good Friday (1980)
Today I’m looking at The Long Good Friday (1980), a British gangster film about Harold Shand, a London crime boss trying to step into legitimate business just…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 26: Deliverance (1972)
Today I’m looking at Deliverance (1972), where a canoe trip through rural Georgia starts as a kind of last hurrah and slowly turns into something much darker…
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Episode 25: The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Today I’m talking about The Fabulous Baker Boys (1988), a film with a slightly predictable plot but undeniable chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Michelle…
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Episode 24: Rain Man (1988)
Today I’m looking at Rain Man (1988), a film I first saw at 15 in the cinema with my dad, double-billed with Twins. What’s stayed with me is how it works as a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 23: The Boost (1988)
Today I’m looking at The Boost (1988), a very 80s story about ambition, excess and self-destruction. James Woods throws himself into the lead role as a man…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 22: Ferrari (2023)
Today I’m looking at Ferrari (2023), Michael Mann’s portrait of a man trying to hold everything together while the walls slowly close in around him. Adam…